Former Prime Minister Dame Jacinda Ardern to give evidence to Covid response Inquiry
Photo:
2021 Getty Images
Former Prime Minister Dame Jacinda Ardern will provide evidence to the Royal Commission investigating New Zealand's Covid-19 pandemic response.
The inquiry is looking into the government's response to the pandemic and its effects.
This week's hearings have concentrated on the impact of the extended lockdown in Auckland and Northland in 2021 and on vaccine mandates and safety.
RNZ previously reported that the commission had requested Ardern to give evidence at a public hearing in August.
But the commission said
no decisions had been made
about who would appear.
"The witness list is still under consideration, and it is not appropriate to make further comment about it at this stage," they said in a written statement.
"The Inquiry will share the witness list and more information about the planned August public hearing in due course."
A spokesperson for Ardern said she will provide evidence to assist the commission meet its terms of reference and are in discussions about the best way for that to happen.
She provided testimony to the first, non-public, phase of the Inquiry, the spokesperson said.
The impact of the extended lockdown in Auckland and Northland in 2021 has been the main topic of discussion at this week's hearings.
On Tuesday, Dr Antje Deckert told the Inquiry that
63,000 lockdown breaches were reported to police by citizens during levels 4, 3 and 2.
Police road stops were also counterproductive because officers were often unclear on how to enforce lockdown rules, she said.
Deckert said people found it difficult balancing government messaging of being kind while also enforcing lockdown rules.
Representatives from the disabled community have revealed they were often a target of abuse during lockdowns.
A Pasifika health expert said the Pacific population was over-represented in all aspects of the pandemic.
Auckland Council disability advisory group co-chair Barry De Geest said because disabled people were often mask or vaccine exempt, it led to cases of discrimination.
"The number of people we had crying because they'd been uptown or done something and they were being abused by people saying you know 'put your mask on', you know 'think of us', you know so there was so much of that."
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